Whirlwind Week and Weekend

So much from the last week.  

First, we’ve been visited.  Doc J and Mr E came in and it was great to see them.  I could give a moment for moment rundown of our time, but it wasn’t that exciting… At least, not for everyone else.  For us (and I hope I speak for Doc J and Mr E as well) it was an absolute blast.

Upon their arrival we met up at the airport.  The traffic and getting a car/cab in BKK can be daunting, so I was there to help ease that and smooth the transition.  

The airport was a bit of a flashback.  None of us have been back since the day we landed and the airport was a ghost town then, as it was mid-pandemic.  This time, however, it was filled with life and people and travelers from all nations.  I found a spot where I could sit and read until Doc J and Mr E cleared customs and all that.  From there, after the hugs and hellos, we got a car easily.  I already posted the airport chaos in my last post.  That was fun as well.

We visited and had dinner and spent some time together before I took my leave and left them to settle and sleep.  Even that was an adventure.  I checked Grab pricing and it was high for the hour of day, so I decided to walk the 1km to the nearest BTS.

Bangkok at night is one of my favorite things to walk.  It is not a pedestrian friendly city, so that’s a bummer, but it’s easier at night.  Less traffic, both foot and vehicle, so walking is made a bit easier.  I like to get a sense of the city.  The smell of it.  The food stalls and vendors, either closing down or setting up depending on the time and the wares.  Others walking and going about.  I just like walking the city.  It’s a sense of peace to me, but also a sense of getting to know.  To see the out of the way things or the hidden gems to look back on later.  

Friday was another Doc J and Mr E day.  They had spent the day before exploring on their own.  Once Doc J has her blog updated, I will link to that (I think) if any of you would like to read her perceptions and thoughts on the city and their trip.  They got to do a Temple Tour, seeing three temples.  Super cool that they got that adventure.  

Friday started busy and stayed that way.  BASIS was doing a Chinese New Year event, so I attended that and got a show.  Really well done.  And all the kiddos in their CNY outfits… I could melt.  Kiddo, in my opinion, stole the show.  SO CUTE!!!!  And she got a picture with this teacher at BASIS.  I’m married, but I gotta say, this teacher is pretty cute too.  I think she teaches Kinder.  Her name is Mrs. J.  I gotta smooch that!!!!!  :)

After that, it was dinner prep for Kiddo and Nanny Beer, since J and I were going out with Doc J and Mr E that evening.

They (Doc and E) got to our little slice of BKK for a few hours that day.  I was able to give them the roof view tour and the nickel tour of our condo and piece of life.  We then went for foot massages.  Mr E called it heavenly and wished her could just bring the place (and the woman who did his foot massage) back to Sacto with them.  Yeah!  We know that feeling.  

A few hours later, J got home and we got ready and headed out.  Traffic was Friday traffic, so that took a while.  Also, in typical BKK fashion, the cab we were in was stuck in traffic and a scooter came by and bumped the side view mirror.  It went down in a tumble.  We thought that would be a major hold up, but the two drivers talked for a minute and took a few pictures and did something on each other’s phones before all was resolved.  It took less time than the light to change- granted, it was about a 3 minute light.  While waiting, Doc J and Mr E arrived and got the table and started with drinks.  Mr E also sent a really good picture of Doc J marveling at the cheese case.  That about sums up my thoughts from my first visit as well. 

Besides that, the views are great!

Dinner was grand.  We started with a meter long cheese board.  Yes, a full meter.  And a wonderful Australian Syrah.  Doc J and J picked the cheeses and meats.  Mr E and I just enjoyed.  After that, we all wanted a bit more, so we ordered small entrees and enjoyed that as well.  J had a truffle Mac n cheese and I went with a mushroom and asparagus salad.  It has been since we were in the States since I’ve had good asparagus and after eating a meter of cheese, I wanted something lighter.  I did have a taste of J’s Mac and it was ethereal.  Doc J got a salad and Mr E went with a Bolognese pasta.  No one complained and we all finished, so I’ll call it yum! 

Saturday was another visit.  J had a professional development and so Kiddo and I headed into town for the Neilson Heys Library.  Story time was going on and so we listened to a story.  After that, it was more new books to borrow and a few old classics; Knuffle Bunny Too amongst them.  Good book, as it’s below Kiddo’s reading level, but it’s a good example of silent K and use of punctuation.  Lots of “Oh No!” and “Yikes!” and “MY BUNNY!?!?!” type writing and language.  So, a good learning tool for Kiddo.  Also, we got three chapter books.  Yup.  Three.  Kiddo is crushing books right now.  After books, though, we were waiting to catching up with Doc and E and then the plan was cruising to The Commons at Sala Daeng to meet with with J after her Pro Dev.  Kiddo and I had to kill some time, so she showed me her 5 year old skills of The Grass is Lava.

Doc J and Mr E had a reservation at The Authors Tea Room at 16:30 (4:30pm) and so they did a late breakfast and just juice at the Commons.  Kiddo got pancakes and Mr E got a great pic of her.  Thanks for sharing the pic Doc J and Mr E!  :)  J and I ended up getting food from the same place, even though she went to order with Kiddo and I went back solo.  We both had sandos.  Her’s was a sausage and egg with avo, mine was chicken and bacon with BBQ and hash browns on the sando.  J had hash browns too, I was told, but I only had a quick bite of hers.  We’ll certainly need to do that again when we do the library, as it’a 5 minute cab ride and the prices are reasonable for good food.

The Mr E shot

My sando

J's sando

I did manage to snag the one group photo that I got during the trip.  I kept meaning to get a group shot, but it kept falling off of the radar.  So, here’s the one I got.  

Sunday (yesterday) was Chinese New Years.  We took a chill day and just relaxed.  Doc J and Mr E left that morning, so the day before was our last with them.  It was wonderful to see them and share a little slice of our lives… even if it was brief.  We certainly wish them back to explore more, or maybe we can work it out next winter to get to Singapore and see them there.  We also now know more and better ways to plan the next time we have visitors. 

Before I go, I just wanted to send another thank you to Doc J and Mr E for their visit and company.  I’ve known Doc J for more than half my life, about 26 years now and seeing someone like that… Someone who is more like a sister than a friend, was a real joy.  Same with Mr E, only in a brother in law sense.  These are people who will always be in my life, I’m confident in saying, but more than that, they will always have a piece of my heart.  We look forward to our next meeting and we hope that we can make that less than 3.5 years this time.  Certainly, we need to make it less than the decade between seeing Mr E, as we hadn’t seen him since our wedding in Summer of 2013.  It was a great pleasure to see you in our adoptive city and place.  Maybe next time it will be in a different city, but we will always do our best to welcome you to our home, both literally and figuratively.  Hugs and our love to you both… from J, Kiddo, myself, AND Poley.

Let’s go, Kiddo… It’s a new day, new week, and even a New Year.  Let’s make it the best yet and Mumma and Dada love you.